WASHINGTON, D.C. - Bryce Scott's five threes helped Lafayette erase a 17-point second-half deficit, but the Leopards came up short, falling 68-64 to American on Saturday afternoon at Bender Arena. Scott matched his career high with 17 points, all after halftime, and Seth Hinrichs scored 18.

Stephen Lumpkins paved the way for American, accounting for 24 points and nine boards as the Eagles (8-14, 3-4 Patriot) held a 31-22 rebounding edge. Lumpkins finished 8-for-10 from the floor and 8-of-9 at the line for the home team, which finished 23-of-44 overall (52.3 percent) and made 16 of its 17 free throw attempts.

Hinrichs' third three of the first half tied the score at 14-14 with 7:09 to play before intermission, but American used a 10-0 run to take a double-digit advantage. The run started and ended with three-pointers by Jon Schoof and Jesse Reed before Dan Trist (12 points) connected on a long jumper. American went on the score the final five points of the half, including an old-fashioned three-point play by Lumpkins, to take a 29-16 lead into the locker room.

American limited Lafayette (10-12, 4-3 Patriot) to 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) from the floor in the period and the Leopards' 16 points were the lowest for Lafayette in any half this season. Out of the break, the Eagles put in the first four points of the half and ended their run at 19-2, prior to Scott drilling back-to-back threes from the left wing. A basket by Trist ended the mini-spurt (8-0) and Lafayette trailed by nine at 16:55.

Down 39-29, Lafayette scored the next nine points with jumpers by Joey Ptasinski and Trist, before Scott hit another triple and Hinrichs made two at the line. A three-point play on Zach Rufer's drive down the lane tied the score at 43 with 10:36 to go and erased American's 17-point lead.

Scott connected again from beyond, giving Lafayette its first lead of the second half at 48-47, but Schoof answered with a triple of his own at the other end on American's next possession. An 8-2 run by the Eagles at the 6:20 mark pushed their cushion to seven points (60-53) and was supported by threes by Blake Jolivette and Mike Bersch, and two from Lumpkins.

Down seven with 2:33 remaining after a Lumpkins jumper, Lafayette cut it to two with Scott's career-high fifth three and a Hinrichs runner in the lane at the one-minute mark. Daniel Munoz (12 points) got to the rim for two on the other end, pushing the Eagles' lead back to four with 28 seconds showing. After Tony Johnson's layup, Munoz made two free throws in a one-and-one situation to push the lead back to four. From there, Levi Giese and Johnson each misfired on threes in the final 15 seconds as American held on for the 68-64 win.

Lafayette opens the second half of Patriot League play on Saturday, Feb. 9 when it takes on Navy in Annapolis, Md. Opening tip from Alumni Hall is 7 p.m. and the game can be seen online on GoLeopards.com/allaccess Game Notes:

Lafayette Athletics, as a partner in the mission of the College, provides and incredibly effective
learning experience for student-athletes through competitive NCAA Division I
athletics. Lafayette sponsors 23 varsity sports with more than 600 student-athletes.